Don't panic over missing reference to Germantown Trader Joe's on website, company says

A Trader Joe's is planned for Germantown. Due to construction delays, the store at 2130 Exeter Road is now scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017. The store in this photograph is in Naples, Florida. (Tim Aten/Journal Media Group)

Hey, all you Trader Joe's fans, don't read too much into it if you notice the "coming soon" reference to a Germantown store is missing from the chain's website.

Nothing is official -- still -- but a company spokeswoman said Thursday Trader Joe's remains very much interested in coming to the area.

For the past couple of years, those eager to see the California grocery chain drop anchor in the Memphis area have watched closely for an announcement. One of the favorite places to look has been the Trader Joe's website, where a Germantown store was long touted for the old Kroger grocery site at 2130 Exeter.

But a search for store locations now yields nothing in the Memphis area, not even the "coming soon" teased since 2016. The only Tennessee stores currently showing are one each in Nashville and Knoxville, with no coming stores listed in the state.

"People shouldn't read anything into it at all," she said. "When a certain amount of time goes by and there's no store, we like to take (the online reference) down just because you get a lot of people calling and saying, 'You said it was coming soon, and it's still not here.' We're still definitely interested, but there's no confirmation of it."

Conversion of the old Kroger site to new uses took a big step forward in December when Germantown aldermen approved a development contract for the property. No specific tenant was mentioned, but a project representative gave reason to be optimistic.

The Tennessee Bid Network website last summer showed a listing for renovation work on the property, titled "Trader Joe's Shell Space & Shops."

The development contract approved by aldermen in December for 2130 Exeter Holdings LLC calls for renovation of the existing 48,244 square feet of retail space and parking lot, along with construction of a separate 7,000-square-foot building.

Trader Joe's, if it does come, will be only one of multiple tenants.

"We're just thrilled that people want us in the area," Friend-Daniel said. "Anything could happen, but we're still looking to bring a store there."